The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished 9-8 this past season, winning the NFC South for the third straight season, and are currently the only team in the NFC to make the playoffs for four consecutive seasons.
When the 2023 season began, coach Todd Bowles was on the hot seat. Now, five months later, Bowles has earned himself at least one more season in Tampa after their impressive 32-9 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the wildcard round despite the loss in the divisional round to the Detroit Lions.
Although Bowles was far from perfect, I give him a C for a grade this season. Bowles’ clock management was terrible at times, and his misuse of timeouts was inexcusable.
Quarterback- A+
Baker Mayfield took every snap but two this season. He passed for 4,044 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, the best season of his career. Mayfield gets an A+ grade for his play this season. Without his play, the Buccaneers won’t make the playoffs. Mayfield made the least of any starting quarterback this season and finished in the top ten.
Buccaneers Wide Receivers- A
Mike Evans and Chris Godwin continue to be the best receiving duo in the NFL. There can be no argument about that. You could argue, but you would be wrong. Evans finished his tenth consecutive season with 1,000-plus yards receiving. He finished tied for first in the NFL with 13 touchdown catches despite dropping some passes in critical situations.
Godwin continues to be a model of consistency. In the last five seasons, Godwin has 83, 104, 96,65, and 86 catches, respectively, missing 1,000 yards just once in the previous five seasons.
Trey Palmer showed what he could do as a receiver, especially in the second half of the season and in the playoffs. Palmer flashed that 4.33 speed that left defenders in the dust and was able to create good separation. Palmer should have a much more significant role in the offense next season.
Running Back- C
Although Rachaad White just missed 1,000 yards rushing, the Buccaneers struggled to run the ball consistently.
Ke’Shawn Vaughan was cut in November, and Chase Edmonds proved to be better as a receiver than a running back.
I was disappointed the Buccaneers did not give Sean Tucker more of an opportunity to play. He was a dual threat at Syracuse, and after a few touches in the first half of the season, he never saw the field the last eight games of the season.
Running back will be a position of need for this team in the off-season as the Buccaneers need someone who can effectively back up Rachaad White.
Tight End- B
Cade Otten was the number one target on a lot of the pass attempts this season with mixed results. Otten finished fourth on the team with 47 catches for 455 yards and four touchdowns.
Buccaneers Offensive Line- D
Outside of left tackle Tristan Wirfs, no one on this offensive line could consistently play at a high level. Rookie Cody Mauch struggled at guard all season, and Luke Goedeke got off to a slow start at right tackle and showed gradual improvement in the last half of the season.
Despite moving from right tackle to left tackle, Wirfs still played at a Pro Bowl level and is one of the best tackles in the game.
The run game improved when Matt Feiler was benched in favor of Aaron Stinnie. The Buccaneers must develop some depth through free agency or in the draft. Lucky for the Buccaneers, the lack of depth was not tested much this season.
Buccaneers Defensive Line- B
Vita Vea and rookie Calijah Kancey carried this group with their excellent play all season. Despite missing four games, Kancey finished the season with 26 tackles and four sacks. Vea finished second on the team with 5.5 sacks.
Logan Hall did not show the improvement I expected this season. In 16 games, he registered just 22 tackles and half a sack.
Linebackers- A-
I give this category an A- due to the play of YaYa Diaby and KJ Britt. Diaby did not see extended playing time until the second half of the season and finished second on the team with 6.5 sacks.
Lavonte David was his usual self as he led the Buccaneers with 125 tackles. Devin White was a huge disappointment. In the first half of the season, he half-assed it through many games until he was finally benched for KJ Britt in December.
Britt played well against the run and went all out in every play. His liability is he is not very good at pass coverage.
Shaq Barrett had a decent season with 52 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
Defensive Backs- B
Thank god for Antoine Winfield JR. If not for his play, this unit would have been more of a dumpster fire than it already was.
Between Carlton Davis and his nagging injuries and Jamel Dean’s inconsistent play, it’s no wonder the pass defense ranked in the bottom third in the league.
Rookie Christien Izien had a couple of good moments intercepting two passes in the season’s first two games.
This will be an area the Buccaneers will need to upgrade in the off-season.
Special Teams- A
The Buccaneers return game has been non-existent the past few seasons. With Devin Thompkins handling most of the kick and punt returns, the return game did show signs of life at times but was still not a significant threat.
Kicker Chase McLaughlin was about as good as you could be, going 29/31 in field goals, with the two missed attempts being partially blocked. McLaughlin is a free agent, and the Bucs would be wise to sign him to a long-term deal.
Punter Jake Camrada averaged over 50 yards per punt and could flip the field in favor of the Buccaneers at some point in almost every game.
Coaching[ B-
Dave Canales sometimes struggled with his play-calling in his first season as an offensive coordinator, but he did enough to land a head coaching job at Carolina.
Todd Bowles’s clock management was suspect almost every game, and he struggled with when to use his timeouts. Bowles would be wise to hire someone to assist him in clock management and proper use of time outs.
Overall, the season was a success for the Buccaneers, with the team winning the NFC South for the third year and being the only NFC team to make the playoffs for four consecutive seasons.
Now, the difficult work begins for Jason Licht to improve this roster and put it in a position to be better next season.